CUTEK Offers Hosted Version Of Snail-Mail Address Checker

MURRIETA, Calif. -- CUTEK, a consultancy and developer specializing in the Symitar Episys core processing system, is offering a hosted version of its mailing address validation software solution for credit unions.
There now are 44 credit unions using the in-house Correio system. The hosted version eliminates the need for the credit union to maintain a PC server and connection with the U.S. Postal Service database on its own.
"Our goal for Hosted Correio is to continue offering a powerful and seamless address standardization and validation solution, making it more attractive to credit unions that don't really want to spend the money on hardware to maintain the USPS database or worry about loading updates," said CUTEK President Ron Murray.
Murray said both the hosted and in-house solutions are available to credit unions running on platforms other than Symitar's, a first for CUTEK.
"It's the natural progression of the product to make it available to everybody," Murray said.
The Correio solution integrates with the USPS's programming interface to access the USPS database, which is updated bimonthly, and pushes the data back to the credit union's core processing system. CUTEK also plans to soon upgrade both Correio versions with the ability to check the Social Security Administration's death master list, a feature that also will help protect against fraud, Murray said.
Murrieta-based CUTEK now has a client list of about 120 credit unions running on the Symitar Episys platform.

Jack Henry Offers Remote Capture
For Small Businesses, Consumers

MONETT, Mo. -- A check capture solution aimed at small businesses and consumers is now being offered by Jack Henry & Associates.
The Dep@sit solution allows single or multiple checks to be scanned through a common flatbed scanner and supports deposit either through a financial institution's Internet banking site or a dedicated retail portal, the company said.
It also does not require users to buy or download software, and because it requires no training to use, enables self-service enrollment, the company said.
"Micro-business capture is a logical addition to our enterprise payments platform and a natural complement to our high-volume remote deposit capture solution that supports virtually any commercial entity accepting checks as a form of payment," said David Foss, general manager of the ProfitStars division at Jack Henry.
Dep@sit was developed internally at Jack Henry and is being sold to credit union clients through its Symitar division, to core bank clients through its Jack Henry Banking division and to other financial institutions through ProfitStars, the company said.

Share One Picked by Massachusetts CU

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Share One Inc. said it will be converting Touchstone Federal Credit Union to the NewSolutions core processing solution.
The $18 million credit union currently is running on a re:Member Data Services/Open Solutions Inc. platform, according to the CU's 5300 Call Report at the NCUA.
Vendor service, cost, ease of third-party interfacing, desktop access to reports and streamlining service to members were cited by the credit union as reasons for the switch.
The conversion will take place in July 2009, the company said.
"NewSolutions will allow us to do a better job streamlining the service process. Front-line employees have an integrated view of member data. This feature will allow us to provide answers in one spot without sending a member from department to department," said James McCorkle, the 3,800-member credit union's president/CEO.
Memphis-based Share One (www.shareone.com) is a CUSO that now serves more than 60 credit unions.

Lone Star CU Goes With ACH
Solution From Goldleaf Financial

ATLANTA -- Goldleaf Financial Solutions Inc. said it has deployed an ACH solution at Lone Star Credit Union in Dallas that now is serving the needs of the $83 million credit union's business members.
Lone Star CU began looking for an ACH system to automate payroll processing for a member business owner that had rapidly expanded from four to 400 employees, the credit union said.
The browser-based ACH system now is being used by other member business owners to automate payroll, accounts receivables and payables, in addition to streamlined electronic payments processing that saves money by settling directly with the Federal Reserve, the company and credit union said.
The ACH solution includes training that covers daily operations, risk management and compliance, security and marketing, according to Goldleaf, whose more than 3,500 customers include 50 credit unions.

Passageways Reports Six New CU Users of Portal Solutions

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Passageways LLC said it signed six credit unions as new users of its portal solutions in the past two months.
Joining the list of more than 150 customers are $2.6 billion OnPoint Community CU in Oregon, $974 million State Department FCU in Virginia, $291 million Enrichment FCU in Tennessee, $249 million Johns Hopkins FCU in Maryland, $233 million Christian Financial CU in Michigan, and $105 million Mutual First FCU in Nebraska.
The company (www.passageways.com) also said it recorded more than 100% growth in revenue from existing clients in the past year, including sales of new modules such as Dashboard Creator, Board Portal, Lobby Management Application and an enterprise instant messenger module.
"We continue to see financial institutions invest in our solutions as increased productivity and increased transparency has come to the forefront in our industry, in a slow economy," says Paroon Chadha, a co-founder and vice president at Passageways.
The company also said it is planning to hold its fifth annual client conference on April 29-30 in Indianapolis.
Passageways was founded in 2003 as a CUSO of Purdue Employees FCU. Its flagship product is the Passageways Corporate Portal Framework, which manages and delivers role-based views and access to information, applications and workflow processes.

Technology Credit Union Tests
Web Load With Neotys

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Web stress and load testing software from Neotys (www.neotys.com) are being used by Technology Credit Union as the $1.2 billion CU upgrades its online banking system, the company and credit union said.
Tech CU first used the NeoLoad solution in a core system conversion and now uses it regularly to test the impact of additional upgrades before they are deployed to the more than 30,000 members who bank online.
"Before NeoLoad, we were using makeshift tools that made testing disruptive, inconsistent and time consuming," said Victor Smilgys, assistant vice president of e-commerce at $1.2 billion Tech CU.
Currently, the NeoLoad software tests online banking applications by applying different user scenarios and simulating simultaneous access by multiple users.
Neotys is a French company with a U.S. office in Merrimack, N.H.

San Diego County Credit Union
Commits to Firethorn Mobile

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego County Credit Union will be using the Firethorn platform to provide mobile banking to its 196,000 members beginning early next year.
The $4.2 billion CU plans to Firethorn's current mobile banking service and its upcoming SMS (texting) solution, the company and credit union said.
The mobile banking platform provides real-time balances, alerts, transfers, bill pay and the ability to track rewards points, the company said.
Firethorn Holdings LLC (www.firethornmobile.com) is a subsidiary of Qualcomm. San Diego County CU (www.sdccu.com) is now one of 14 financial institution clients, including $4.4 billion America First CU in Ogden, Utah, and $8.5 billion BECU in Seattle.
--mrapport@cutimes.com